The PKD Android

About the PKD Android Project and Blog: A team of artists , engineers, literary scholars, and freethinkers have created an android portrait of Philip K Dick (PKD). The FedEx Institute of Technology, Hanson Robotics, and the Automation and Robotics Research Institute worked to create a robotic portrait that is a powerful memorial to the author. The project is an unparalleled technical demonstration and a unique and strong work of art. This blog tracks our progress as we develop the future.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Blogging NextFest

Comic-Con Showing of PKD Robot

1:30-2:30 Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly: The Movie—Like a graphic novel come to life, A Scanner Darkly, based on the science fiction novel by author Philip K. Dick, will use live action photography overlaid with an advanced animation process (interpolated rotoscoping) to create a haunting, highly stylized vision of the future. The technology, first employed in Richard Linklater’s 2001 film Waking Life, has evolved to produce even more emotional impact and detail. Appearing in person to present a look and discuss the creative process of this ground breaking film will be producer Tommy Pallotta and lead animators Sterling Allen, Evan Cagle, Nick Derington and Christopher Jennings. Also on the panel, in order to answer the question: “Do Androids Dream of Being Phil Dick?” will be Philip K. Dick in android form! Come and see for yourself … he'll even answer your questions! Written for the screen and directed by Richard Linklater, the film stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane, and will be released by Warner Independent pictures in 2006. Room 6CDEF

CAD Renderings of Exhibit

The front of the left wagon has the entry and the front of the right wagon has a sliding glass window . . .Each side has 2 windows for viewing the interior of the space . . .The back has two windows one for each wagon . . .The roof is simple . . .

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

About Philip K. Dick (PKD the Man)

Many literary critics and scholars in Europe, Japan, and throughout North America agree that Philip K. Dick will be remembered as one of the great novelists of the 20th century. Born in Chicago in 1928, Dick wrote 44 novels and 121 short stories before his death in 1982.

Since Ridley Scott turned Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep? into the science fiction classic Blade Runner, seven of Philip K. Dick's novels or short stories have made their way to the big screen, including Total Recall, Minority Report, and Paycheck. To date, these films have generated over $1 billion in world-wide box office and ancillary revenue. This astounding success is the result of combining visionary stories with talent from the world's finest film directors, studios, and stars. Steven Spielberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, John Woo, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford are only a few of the illustrious names associated with these projects.

Interest in Phillip K. Dick’s work continues to grow. Recently a play based on one of Dick’s many novels, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, extended its run in Los Angeles to include five additional shows. In March of 2005, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame and a movie adaptation of A Scanner Darkly is set to be released in the coming year.